O86.4 vs R50
O86.4 (Pyrexia of unknown origin following delivery) compared with R50 (Fever of other and unknown origin), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.
Can these codes be reported together?
No — do not report together. R50 carries an Excludes1 note covering O86.4: “puerperal pyrexia NOS (O86.4)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
Side by side
| O86.4Pyrexia of unknown origin following delivery | R50Fever of other and unknown origin | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Non-billable header |
| Classification | O00-O9A — Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium (O00-O9A) | R00-R99 — Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings, Not Elsewhere Classified (R00-R99) |
| Definition | Pyrexia of unknown origin following delivery is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (O86.4). | Fever of other and unknown origin is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (R50). |
| Includes | Puerperal infection NOS following delivery Puerperal pyrexia NOS following delivery | — |
| Use additional code | code (B95-B97), to identify infectious agent | — |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources